Fancy Drinks at West
I noticed in the newspaper that my cousin the bartender at West had won an award as the city's best. This seemed like a good excuse, considering it was Toshiko's last night in Vancouver, to once again sample West's fine beverages and food to match. Fumiyo and Toshiko were promised non-alcoholic versions of the Joliecoeur, while I get the one with vodka and wine in it. Or that was supposed to happen. Fumiyo sampled mine and said it was sweeter than hers. Mine tasted like a subtle lemonade. Then the bartender (not Dave, he's in Toronto competing with Canada's best tonight) runs over and says he made a mistake. Fumiyo's is the boozey cocktail, mine is the virginal beverage. He makes her a new one and I finish hers. Ah, the wine really makes it delicious. 
Our bouches are amused with a tiny sablefish croquette and some sort of mousse. Bullwinkle? 
For starters, Steph and I had the lobster gnocchi with basil sauce. Amazingly good, but very filling. 
Fumiyo had the mushroom ravioli, which seems to be on the menu all over town these days. Wests was as good as any.
Toshiko had the fois gras. I declined a taste as some was coming with the pheasent I ordered.
Before the main course, I had another of David's creations, this one called a Noyeau Glace. Very peachy. The flower parts (?) on top didn't help though. I was expecting a flower on the Jolicoeur, but only got a grape.
Fumiyo and Steph each had the chicken. The taste I had seemed to be smoke-infused. Intriguing. That's why one goes to restaurants like this, to taste things for the first time.
Toshiko had the very scenic halibut. My forkfull melted in my mouth.
Pheasent was a special of the day, not on the menu. This was only the 2nd time I've eaten pheasent, the first time on a bed of red cabbage and spinache with a fois gras filled brioche. My parents had sent us a food basket containing a pheasent a few years ago for Christmas. It tasted like ham. I love ham. This tasted more like very moist chicken. Probably the sous vide. Perfectly paired with a red wine, it was far more than I could eat. The half I took home made a splendid lunch the following day, perfect preparation for my venture into the Golden Plates Food Olympic competition. See next blog post.
While the women feasted on sweets and specialty coffees, I had another one of David's acts of creativity, this one called Pie. It really did taste like pumpkin pie. Thankfully not as filling. While I was enjoying it, a server came and said she'd just heard from Toronto that Dave had won best mixologist in Canada, and was off to France to compete for the world title. On the strength of these cocktails, I can't imagine him losing.
Grapefruit sorbet with a sauce made from some kind of tea. Does the cleverness never end? It was great to have something to take home from West. Although we arrived at the usually busy time of 7:30, the restaurant was never busy all the time we were there. Everyone should be here enjoying these amazing things to eat and drink, before this restaurant dissappears.
Toshiko had the fois gras. I declined a taste as some was coming with the pheasent I ordered. 
Before the main course, I had another of David's creations, this one called a Noyeau Glace. Very peachy. The flower parts (?) on top didn't help though. I was expecting a flower on the Jolicoeur, but only got a grape. 
Fumiyo and Steph each had the chicken. The taste I had seemed to be smoke-infused. Intriguing. That's why one goes to restaurants like this, to taste things for the first time. 
Toshiko had the very scenic halibut. My forkfull melted in my mouth. 
Pheasent was a special of the day, not on the menu. This was only the 2nd time I've eaten pheasent, the first time on a bed of red cabbage and spinache with a fois gras filled brioche. My parents had sent us a food basket containing a pheasent a few years ago for Christmas. It tasted like ham. I love ham. This tasted more like very moist chicken. Probably the sous vide. Perfectly paired with a red wine, it was far more than I could eat. The half I took home made a splendid lunch the following day, perfect preparation for my venture into the Golden Plates Food Olympic competition. See next blog post. 
While the women feasted on sweets and specialty coffees, I had another one of David's acts of creativity, this one called Pie. It really did taste like pumpkin pie. Thankfully not as filling. While I was enjoying it, a server came and said she'd just heard from Toronto that Dave had won best mixologist in Canada, and was off to France to compete for the world title. On the strength of these cocktails, I can't imagine him losing. 
Grapefruit sorbet with a sauce made from some kind of tea. Does the cleverness never end? It was great to have something to take home from West. Although we arrived at the usually busy time of 7:30, the restaurant was never busy all the time we were there. Everyone should be here enjoying these amazing things to eat and drink, before this restaurant dissappears.
posted by C Simril @ 1:25 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Okay, I've decided, next time I visit you in Van I want you to take us to West. :)
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